Fire Research Division

Fire Research Division

Extramural Fire Research Grants Program

The Fire Research Grants Program is open to institutions of higher education; hospitals; non-profit organizations; commercial organizations; state, local, and Indian tribal governments; foreign governments; organizations under the jurisdiction of foreign governments; and international organizations. Joint programs with participation by more than one eligible entity are possible.

All grant awards are made on a competitive basis. An annual notice that provides additional information on the availability of grant funds, applicant eligibility, program objectives, and selection criteria is issued in the Federal Register when funds are approved by Congress (normally by the end of the first quarter of each fiscal year). Proposals should be compatible with the following program goals and objectives:

A. Analysis and Prediction: The objectives are to develop understanding and predictive methods for dynamic fire phenomena to advance fire science and engineering practice and to perform research to understand the heat and mass transfer processes occurring in fires in order to improve predictions of the growth, spread, suppression, and emissions transport from fires of all scales. Experiments and metrology are developed and used to develop, support, and verify advanced computer simulations of fire phenomena, fire hazards, fire protection, and fire fighting. The contact person for this group is Anthony Hamins, and he may be reached at (301) 975-6598.

B. Fire Metrology: The objective is to apply measurement science in the development and quantification of new and existing measurement methods for studying fire growth, fire-induced flows, flame radiation, smoke formation and dynamics, species production, heat transfer, fire suppression, and fire detection. The contact person for this group is Jiann Yang, and he may be reached at (301) 975-6662.

C. Fire Fighting Technology: The objectives are to conduct research that enables advances in fire fighter safety, fire ground operations, and effectiveness of the fire service; develop and apply measurements, modeling, and technology, and improve the understanding of the behavior, prevention and control of fires to enhance fire fighting operations and equipment, fire suppression, fire investigations, and disaster response; and provide input, including experimental data, fire modeling and test protocols, to advance the effectiveness of fire safety standards and codes. The contact person for this group is Nelson Bryner, and he may be reached at (301) 975-6868.

D. Integrated Performance Assessment: The objective is to produce tools utilizing enhanced data and prediction methods to quantify fire events for fire hazard and risk assessment; for fire fighting operations and training; for fire investigations; and for performance evaluations of fire protection systems in buildings, transportation systems, and vehicles in response to fire. Stakeholders include architects and design engineers; manufacturers of building materials, products, and furnishings; code developers, enforcers, and regulatory authorities; and those exposed to direct risk such as building owners, occupants, the fire service, and the general public. The contact person for this group is Tom Cleary, and he can be reached at (301) 975-6858.

E. Materials and Products: The objective is to perform research enabling the confident development by industry of new, less-flammable materials and products. This capability is based on understanding fundamentally the mechanisms that control the ignition, flame spread and burning rate of materials, as well as the chemical and physical characteristics that affect these aspects of flammability. This includes developing methods of measuring the response of a material to fire conditions that enable assured prediction of the full-scale performance of the final product; developing computational molecular dynamics and other mechanistic approaches to understand flame retardant mechanisms and the effects of polymer chemical structure on flammability; characterizing the burning rates of charring and non-charring polymers and composites; and delineating and modeling the enthalpy and mass transfer mechanisms of materials combustion. The contact person for this group is Jeff Gilman, and he can be reached at (301) 975-6573.

Prospective proposers are encouraged to contact the above researchers to determine the extent of interest prior to preparation of a detailed proposal.

Electronic filing is accepted through www.grants.gov.  Cover page should include a statement indicating that the technical proposal is for the Fire Research Grant Program.

Additional information is available from the BFRL Fire Grants Assistant, Wanda Duffin-Ricks, wanda.duffin-ricks@nist.gov.

A PDF file of the document "Extramural Fire Research Program - Announcement and Preparation Guide" (revised October 2007) is available detailing the BFRL Extramural Fire Research Program and a guide for preparing grant proposals. 

The necessary standard forms are  available through the Grants.gov website:
http://www.grants.gov/agencies/aapproved_standard_forms.jsp. 

The necessary CD forms are available from the DOC OCIO Forms Management Web Site. http://ocio.os.doc.gov/ITPolicyandPrograms/Electronic_Forms/SSDATA_FORMSMANAGEMENT_REGION7

(For assistance with obtaining forms contact the Fire Grants Program Assistant.)

Lists of awards made in the Fire Grants Program during previous fiscal years are available here as PDF files:


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Last updated: 4/28/2008